Abstract [en]

Background: Important parts of the nursing profession included alleviating suffering, supporting individuals in grief and contributing to a good quality of life. The palliative care therefore becomes complex for nurses. The form of care enters when curative treatment methods no longer produce desirable results. Palliative care is based on a salutogenic approach where holistic care is performed through good symptom relief.

Aim: The purpose of the literature study was to describe nurses' experiences of the palliative care of adults.

Method: The descriptive literature study included twelve articles that answered the purpose of the literature study. The searches were done systematically through the databases CINAHL and PubMed.

Results: The results showed that nurses experienced palliative care as a mental stress in connection with lack of experience. Difficulties emerged in the form of a lack of time in the care of the patients and the lack of communication with the patient, relatives and colleagues. Benefits were shown by the nurses experiencing positive response from their work when patients and relatives felt viewed through conversation and good symptom relief.

Conclusion: Based on the results of the literature study, the nurse can get an idea of which parts of the palliative care are of the greatest importance. The result will contribute to increased security for nurses in the performance of palliative care. Through this study, nurses with less experience can learn from the more experienced nurses what is considered relevant to focus on, which will contribute to safer palliative care for patients.